IWN Report — Saturday, 1 August 2026
Odisha switched on a new command centre for its forests on 22 July, built to watch over the state’s parks, sanctuaries and elephant corridors in something close to real time. The Odisha Forest Department‘s Integrated Forest Monitoring & Command Centre, or IFMCC, was inaugurated by the state’s Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia, at Aranya Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, the department’s headquarters.
The Setup
The centre pulls real-time field information, satellite-based monitoring, GIS analytics and decision-support tools into a single dashboard, according to the department. Dr K Murugesan, Odisha’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, described it as a hub built to enable “timely interventions” for forest conservation, wildlife protection and disaster response alike.
Officials demonstrated three systems on the day: a Compensatory Afforestation Land Bank tracking degraded revenue forest land earmarked for restoration, the IFMCC dashboard itself, and a second version of the Odisha Forest Management System, the department’s existing digital record of plantation, patrol and fire data.
Real Stakes
Odisha’s forests are not short of things worth watching closely. Similipal Tiger Reserve sits in the state’s north. The mangrove creeks of Bhitarkanika National Park, home to some of India’s largest saltwater crocodiles, and the nesting beaches of Gahirmatha, where olive ridley turtles come ashore each winter, lie along its coast. Chilika Lake, a lagoon large enough to be mistaken for a sea, holds one of India’s few resident populations of Irrawaddy dolphins.
The state’s elephant corridors are among the busiest in the country, and its dry-season forests are no strangers to fire. A dashboard that can flag a blaze, or a herd on the move, before a ranger’s radio call does is meant to buy time — precisely where time tends to run short.
Also Launched
The same event carried smaller announcements too. Officials discussed the state’s Wood-Based Industries Rules and its Eco-restoration Policy, and the Minister launched a refurbished website for the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society. Two publications were released alongside it: a souvenir marking the 14th National Workshop of JICA-Assisted Forestry Projects in India, and the annual report of the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project’s second phase, covering 2025–26.
Sources: Tathya · OrissaPost
